Latest news with #MubadalaCitiDCOpen
USA Today
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Venus Williams wins again at 45 years old in magical night for tennis
The match was over, the smile was beaming and here was Venus Williams – the seven-time Grand Slam champion, the 45-year-old icon of tennis, the soon-to-be bride – telling jokes about health insurance. 'I had to come back because they informed me earlier this year I'm on COBRA,' she said, giggling through her on-court interview with Rennae Stubbs after a what-did-we-just-watch 6-3, 6-4 victory over world No. 35 Peyton Stearns at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. 'So I was like, 'I gotta get my benefits!' You guys know what it's like. I'm always at the doctor so I need this insurance.' It's a great line. And the funniest part about it is, when Williams entered this tournament as a wild card having not played on the WTA Tour since March 2024 and without winning an official match in 709 days, there was no clear reason why she would play at all. Williams admits that she holds her cards close to the vest on purpose. She never officially retired. She never closed the door. In her last few years on tour, the results weren't good. Injuries piled up, as they tend to do for athletes who approach their 40s. So was entering this tournament out of nowhere a one-off or a comeback? She wouldn't say. Who cares. What she produced was magical, even if it's just for one memorable night. 'There were so many times I wanted to coast and kind of chill,' Williams said. 'Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You don't know how much work goes into this. It's 9-to-5 except you're running the whole time and then lifting weights and then you're repeating it the next day.' But her support team wanted her to play at least one more time. Her fiancé, the Danish-Italian actor Andrea Preti, had never seen her play. And my goodness did she deliver something special, the kind of thing only tennis can provide. Williams is not the oldest women's player to win a match on the WTA Tour. That would be Martina Navratilova winning a first-round match at Wimbledon in 2004. But given how little she had played recently and who she was up against Tuesday – a very good 23-year-old who wasn't even born when Williams won her fourth major at the 2001 US Open – it's arguably the most stunning result of the year in any sport. How did she do it? She served incredibly well with nine aces, executed an incredibly-aggressive game plan that made Stearns uncomfortable and baited her into too many unforced errors. Is it sustainable? We'll see. Williams plays the No. 5 seed, Magdalena Frech, on Thursday. The more important question is whether this win will encourage Williams to keep going and perhaps even request a wild card to the US Open, which would very likely be granted given her stature in the history of the sport. Had Williams been defeated soundly Tuesday, it might have been controversial to give a 45-year-old a pass into the US Open field. But now, it kind of seems like a no-brainer if that's what she wants to do. 'I'm just here for now, and who knows?' she said in her pre-tournament press conference. 'Maybe there's more. At the moment, I'm focused just on this. I haven't played in a year. There is no doubt I can play tennis, but obviously coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things. I definitely feel I'll play well. I'm still the same player. I'm a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand.' Everyone got a good laugh out of that, including Williams. But when she got out on the court, it turned out to be true. She hit big enough to knock the No. 35 player in the world off the court. She's probably not going to contend for another Grand Slam, but if you can do that, you belong. None of us are truly timeless, but Williams made a heck of an argument in the other direction Tuesday. At 45, she looked as fit and powerful as she had in years. Whether it's the beginning of something or one last hurrah before the end, the fact she was willing to put herself out there at all was a gift to tennis and fans who have watched her play pro tournaments for 31 years. Even if it's just for the health insurance, Williams' presence can still elevate a tennis tournament. And even if Tuesday was the last match she ever wins, delivering that moment was something everybody who cares about the sport should be thankful they got to witness.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
‘I had to come back for the insurance': Venus Williams becomes second-oldest woman to win tour-level singles match at 45
Venus Williams certainly rolled back the years on Tuesday night in Washington as she secured her 819th tour-level win, aged 45. Securing the same scoreline as her first-ever victory 31 years ago when she was 14, Venus became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis, delivering some of her familiar big serves and groundstrokes while beating Peyton Stearns — 22 years her junior — by a 6-3, 6-4 score at the DC Open. This was the first singles victory for Williams in nearly two years. The only older woman to win a match was Martina Navratilova at 47 in 2004. 'We were literally living and dying together,' Williams said. 'It's not easy to come off after all that time and play the perfect match. All the players here are playing amazing. Peyton played so well, and I felt like I was just trying to slow myself down — going faster and faster and faster — so thanks to my team.' It's like she never left 😮💨@Venuseswilliams defeats Stearns 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round in the United States capital.#MubadalaCitiDCOpen — wta (@WTA) July 23, 2025 There also were moments where Williams — who said her fiancé was in the stands — looked as if it had been just as long as it actually has since she competed, including in the opening game, when she got broken at love this way: forehand wide, forehand into the net, forehand long, backhand long. At the end, it took Williams a bit of extra effort to close things out. She kept holding match points and kept failing to convert them. But eventually, on her sixth chance, Williams powered in a 112 mph serve that Stearns returned into the net. That was it: Williams smiled wide as can be, raised a fist and jogged to the net to shake hands, then performed her customary post-win pirouette-and-wave. Venus Williams after becoming the oldest WTA match winner since 2004: 'I had to come back for the insurance, because they informed me this year that I'm on cobra. So it's like, I got to get my benefits on' 😭😭😭😭 — The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 23, 2025 A day after winning her R16 doubles match with Hailey Baptiste that got her back in the groove, Venus advanced to a second-round singles matchup against No. 5 seed Magdalena Frech, a 27-year-old from Poland. Williams, who has battled several injuries in recent years, revealed that her decision to return was fuelled by her team while jokingly referring to her insurance coverage situation. 'There were so many times I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You guys don't know how much work goes into this. It's 9 to 5, except you're running the whole time, lifting weights, just dying, and then you repeat it the next day,' she said. 'I had to come back for the insurance. They informed me earlier this year I'm on COBRA. So I was like, I got to get my benefits on. Started training….I'm always at the doctor, so I need this insurance.' – With AP Inputs
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ben Shelton cruises through opening round at Washington 500
Back on American soil following a quarter-final finish at Wimbledon, former Florida Gator and world No. 8 Ben Shelton cruised his opening match at the Mubadala Citi DC Open against fellow American Mackenzie McDonald (No. 95), 6-3, 6-4, on Tuesday night. It took just 1 hour and 15 minutes for Shelton to get the job done in the stadium, hitting 23 winners and nine aces. Shelton punished McDonald whenever the latter missed his first serve. Shelton won 17 of 24 second serve return points and won two of three critical break points. Shelton dominated the opening set. The two were about even whenever rallying, but Shelton's overpowering serve proved to be an early difference-maker. That's par for the course for Shelton, especially in these early rounds at 500-level events. He has only truly struggled against the world's No. 1 and No. 2 players this season in Grand Slam play, so these games are about fine-tuning his game and improving his weaknesses. He moved well on the hard court and played a strong return game. The second game was more of the same. McDonald spent most of Shelton's service points trying to figure out how to return a first serve coming in at 130 mph on average. Shelton's fastest of the day came in at 145 mph, and he only had to play a second serve twice. Shelton will face Gabriel Diallo in the Round of 16 on Thursday. While the two have never met at an ATP Tour event, Diallo got the best of Shelton, 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3, at an October 2022 Challenger Tour event. Diallo reached the final in that tournament. Should Shelton advance, he'd have a chance to play doubles partner and fellow American Francis Tiafoe in the quarter-finals. Another option is Flavio Cobolli, which sets up a rematch of last year's semi-final at this event. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida tennis Ben Shelton results Washington 500 Mackenzie McDonald
South Wales Guardian
3 hours ago
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Emma Raducanu earns straight-sets win over Marta Kostyuk in Washington
Playing her first singles match since stretching world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of Wimbledon, Raducanu held off the Ukrainian world number 27 to pull through a gruelling encounter 7-6 (4) 6-4. Both players struggled on serve in a 71-minute opening set, trading early breaks before inevitably edging into a tie-break which Raducanu won despite initially sacrificing a 4-0 lead. Rising to the occasion 🔥@EmmaRaducanu knocks out No.7 seed Kostyuk, 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the second round. #MubadalaCitiDCOpen — wta (@WTA) July 22, 2025 The British number three, who made a rare doubles appearance alongside Elena Rybakina earlier this week, looked the fresher of the pair in tough conditions and cemented her superiority by breaking en route to establishing a 3-0 lead in the second set. Kostyuk, who arrived in Washington having lost five singles matches in a row stretching back to May, rallied just when all seemed lost, breaking Raducanu back as she clawed back to parity at 4-4. Having forced Kostyuk to serve to stay in the match, the Ukrainian handed Raducanu two match points with a double fault, and the Briton seized her second chance to book her place in the second round. 'Extremely good win,' Raducanu said in her on-court interview. 'Playing Marta first round is extremely difficult and we've always had some tough matches. 'I'm happy with the way I fought through the first set and in the second, stayed tough when I needed to.' Cameron Norrie completed a notable win over second seed and world number seven Lorenzo Musetti to book his place in the last 16. Norrie, the world number 41, hit back from losing the opening set to triumph 3-6 6-2 6-3 and score his first win over a top 10-ranked player since reaching the quarter-finals at Indian Wells in 2023.
USA Today
4 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Ben Shelton cruises through opening round at Washington 500
Back on American soil following a quarter-final finish at Wimbledon, former Florida Gator and world No. 8 Ben Shelton cruised his opening match at the Mubadala Citi DC Open against fellow American Mackenzie McDonald (No. 95), 6-3, 6-4, on Tuesday night. It took just 1 hour and 15 minutes for Shelton to get the job done in the stadium, hitting 23 winners and nine aces. Shelton punished McDonald whenever the latter missed his first serve. Shelton won 17 of 24 second serve return points and won two of three critical break points. Shelton dominated the opening set. The two were about even whenever rallying, but Shelton's overpowering serve proved to be an early difference-maker. That's par for the course for Shelton, especially in these early rounds at 500-level events. He has only truly struggled against the world's No. 1 and No. 2 players this season in Grand Slam play, so these games are about fine-tuning his game and improving his weaknesses. He moved well on the hard court and played a strong return game. The second game was more of the same. McDonald spent most of Shelton's service points trying to figure out how to return a first serve coming in at 130 mph on average. Shelton's fastest of the day came in at 145 mph, and he only had to play a second serve twice. Shelton will face Gabriel Diallo in the Round of 16 on Thursday. While the two have never met at an ATP Tour event, Diallo got the best of Shelton, 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3, at an October 2022 Challenger Tour event. Diallo reached the final in that tournament. Should Shelton advance, he'd have a chance to play doubles partner and fellow American Francis Tiafoe in the quarter-finals. Another option is Flavio Cobolli, which sets up a rematch of last year's semi-final at this event. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
